Everyone likes to watch videos on the web.
According to official statistics from YouTube, they have " over a billion users — almost one-third of all people on the Internet — and every day people watch hundreds of millions of hours on YouTube and generate billions of views." The statistics portal Statista notes "As of July 2015, more than 400 hours of video were uploaded to YouTube every minute, up from 300 hours per minute in November 2014."
Wacky cats, wacky stunts, cute cats, cute kids, offensive comedy, and R-rated content are some of the most popular methods to drive traffic. But if someone is trying to promote a product, service, personality or other business, traffic isn’t always the most important metric. Reaching the right audience with the right message becomes the goal. Cute babies might get clicks, but not business.
Audiences are bombarded by words and messages. In a short attention world addicted to entertainment, videos serve as great vehicles for public relations. But videos can be expensive and time-consuming to produce. To discover what works, an all-star panel of publicists and marketers gave us their best advice and, along with me, selected a few of their favorites. Here’s how to gain market share, reach audiences and achieve some of your public relations goals using video in a very competitive world.
“What makes a good content marketing video?’ asks Michelle Messenger Garrett of Garrett Public Relations. “It should reflect your tone of voice. And you should know the goal behind the video. What are you trying to achieve?" Garrett adds “User-generated video is a very inexpensive way to go with video content marketing--and it can be very effective.”
David Spark, of brand journalism and media consulting firm Spark Media Solutions, notes the value of emotion. “One of the big values of video is you can see emotion. So often corporate videos are devoid of emotion because they're so heavily scripted, prepared, or they're just spouting out marketing jargon. My favorite part of video, and what can make a great video, is when you watch people react. Take a look at the reality shows and look at how many times they cut away to reaction shots, and how the reaction alone can tell far more about what the person said than the actual words that came out of their mouth. For that reason, I like to produce funny "man on the street" videos where I purposely go out of my way to ask the question you're not supposed to ask.”
"For example, at the RSA security show I've asked people to give me their password. At VMworld, I've asked people how they explain virtualization to their mom. And at Dreamforce, I've asked people "When is the best time to swear at your customers?" Watch the videos and you'll see there are lots of people simply reacting to the question. You want to spark a conversation in the industry, these kinds of videos do it.”
Spark says big tech events can be a goldmine for user-generated video. “Very few people can absorb an entire event after the fact in real time. But, everyone would like a five-minute summary of the event. You could do that, and co-opt the event's brand for your needs."
Kevin Akeroyd, CEO of Cision, advocates a different approach: market research before production. “Don’t just create content in a vacuum or on a whim. Advancements in technology allow marketers to truly listen to their audience to uncover insights about what types of content will appeal to them, ranging from subject matter to the channels that they are most engaged with. People think of content marketing as a creative discipline, and it is, but it is also very much a data-driven discipline. Before you even put ideas to paper, analyze your audience to inform your content strategy. Think not only about the topics of the content, but also the format.”
A pro tip from Akeroyd and Cision? Original data. “Want your content to earn media coverage? A recent panel of journalists at a Cision media briefing revealed that data-driven content and original stats that aren’t available anywhere else is particularly appealing for their stories and have a higher chance of inclusion.”
Forbes contributor and online marketing guru Neal Rodriguez emphasizes the wow factor. “A good video in content marketing without the need to spend a lot of money should revolve around an idea that makes people say something to the effect of, 'I should have thought of that … For instance, there are 56,000 college students who are homeless, according to 2013-14 Federal Student Aid Form (FAFSA) data. The Los Angeles Times profiled a PhD student who was homeless. A university could prank a guy like this buy towing his car (wait for it), then when a school security guard takes him to a place where he could potentially retrieve it. There he is told he must do jail time for breaking some law. He then is served with a envelope that supposedly has a warrant for his arrest, instead it has keys and directions to a dorm room where he could finish his studies without being homeless.”
Here are 10 great content marketing videos. Some are expensive to produce, others are affordable, all of them offer lessons and templates for creating compelling narratives to promote your product or people.
Blue Bottle Coffee. It’s not quite a coffee table book that doubles as a coffee table, but its pretty close. The well-produced marketing video about the trendy, expensive, San Francisco based coffee brand promotes the brand while educating the user about coffee. Other videos show how to grind and pour your own beans.
What is an explainer video? How about a video that shows you how to create a video? This clever gem was created by Plainly Simple Studios. “Because it is light, entertaining and fun to watch it captures and retains viewers more effective than just text or boring videos. Explainer videos can be used in a lot of situations and are perfect when you want to teach, inform, inspire and a whole lot more.”
Fun Fashion. Talk about simple, brilliant and “Darn! I should have thought of that!” Fashion blogger Wendy Nguyen, produced “25 Ways to Wear a Scarf in 4.5 Minutes!” and attracted millions of views while establishing herself as an expert.
Global warming. Don’t have 60 minutes to understand the science behind man-made climate change? How about 60 seconds? Climate science is explained in one minute by the prestigious Royal Society and the US National Academy of Sciences in this informative video. In about three minutes, NASA scientists discuss heat capacity and the oceans in a video designed for children.
Does anyone promote user-generated content (professional and amateur) better than GoPro? Most humans on the planet have seen the Fireman saving the kitten and why not? It demonstrates the product and you can’t go wrong with a cute kitten.
Travel Portland. These productions are a clinic for the hospitality industry including Welcome to the World of Portland professionally produced with music and images. An advertiser-supported hipster duo mimicked the format with Damon and Jo Get Weird in Portland as part of a web series, Dare To Travel.
More Travel. Vienna Now and Forever. The European travel destination offers several fast-paced, quick videos ranging from two to eight minutes in several languages. The highlights are the Christmas videos with explosions of colorful holiday lights.
Ultimate Tailgate. Here’s a great idea from the NFL Network that any creative person (with some time) could do. Charismatic host Akbar Gbajabiamila visits stadiums around the country to find the funkiest, most fantastic tailgaters, including a Pittsburgh Steelers fan who created the Tailgate Ambulance. Pierogi anyone?
Now if I could only turn this column into a video …..
